Village history in words

Scattered small farms of the Romano-British grew corn in our area to supply the Roman army. Nearest Roman towns were Towcester and Alchester.

Anglo-Saxon times – c.600

Angles settled along upper slopes of the River Great Ouse. Settlements became villages with names ending in ing, ley, ham, ton eg. Moreton = marshy settlement. Our village probably started with the Angles.

Viking times – c.800

Moreton and neighbouring villages feared the arrival of the Danes who attacked from the north-east Danelaw. In 914 the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded defences in Buckingham built by King Edward the Elder. Moreton men probably helped defend this border stronghold.

Norman times1086

Moreton was recorded in the Domesday Book. It had several manors, and in 1086 unusually an Anglo-Saxon called Leofwine de Nuneham was allowed to keep his manor (opposite the church). The Normans introduced a new language and way of landholding, and the building of churches in stone. Probably only the last two affected Moreton.

1200s

The parish boundary of Moreton reached its full extent and has remained roughly the same ever since. An increased population and a mild climate led to maximization of food production. Early field names in Moreton were Lambeshethe, Waterslade, Cattesbrain, Smalethornes.

1450s

St. Edmund’s Church was rebuilt by the villagers with the financial assistance of the unmarried daughters of Lord Poever and soon afterwards the village became known as Maids Moreton in recognition of the help provided by the two ‘Maids’.

1590s

Thomas Langdon, mapmaker, produced an estate map of the village for All Souls College. With Christ Church the two Oxford colleges owned most of the land in the parish.

1642

St. Edmund’s Church was attacked by a troop of Parliamentarian soldiers during the Civil War. Reverend Bate was staunchly royalist, and his large family supported King Charles in word and deed.

1700s

A tavern was opened on land owned by the Duke of Buckingham under various names: the Chequers, Star, and (since 1805) the Wheatsheaf.

1753

Rev. William Hutton became rector. His descendants were the Long and Uthwatt families who became typical ‘squarsons’, combining the roles of landed squire and well-connected parson.

1801

A parliamentary Act of Enclosure signalled the end of the medieval open field system of farming in favour of centralised farms (and their agricultural labourers). At the same time the Buckingham arm of the Grand Junction Canal was opened along Maids Moreton’s southern boundary.

1854

Maids Moreton National School was opened in Main Street thanks to the co-operation of local clergymen, Mr Smith of Moreton Lodge and Christ Church, Oxford.

1900

Increasing use of bicycles, cars and buses opened opportunities for jobs and leisure, and Maids Moreton was no longer a closed community.

1950s

Two World Wars brought more social changes including building programmes: the Pightle 1922, the Leys 1949, Church Close 1953, Manor Park 1965, Glebe Close 1982.

1965

A new village school opened in Avenue Road.

2000

The story of Maids Moreton was retold as a pageant called ‘Moreton Made’ to welcome in a new millennium. One of its stars was Marjorie Pursell who had been in the first village pageant in 1927.